Non-Salary revenue outlay has been enhanced significantly from Rs 62,431 crore in Budget Estimates (BE) 2022-23 to Rs 90,000 crore in BE 2023-24, representing a 44% jump. This expenditure is expected to close critical gaps in the combat capabilities and equip the Forces in terms of ammunition, sustenance of weapons & assets, military reserves etc. This Budget has also sustained the thrust on Modernisation and Infrastructure Development of the Defence Services, by continuing an upward trend in Capital Outlay.

Highlights:

* As a precursor to this increase in the Non-Salary Revenue segment, the government during the Mid-term review had also enhanced the operational allotments of the current financial year by Rs 26,000 crore, which works out as 42% of the present allocation. This unprecedented increase in the Revised Estimates 2022-23 has ensured liquidation of the entire carry over liabilities during the current year thereby ensuring that there is no dent in the next year’s operational outlay of the Services. 

* The enhanced allocations in the Budget will also cater to Training Aids & Simulators for Agniveers and ensure that they achieve the set standards of training for induction in the Defence Forces. EEE status provided to Agniveer Fund

* Thrust on Modernisation & Infrastructure Development Sustained in Union Budget 2023:

Operational allocation of the Armed Forces gets unprecedented jump
* Rs 1.38 lakh crore allocated for Defence Pensions
* Capital outlay pertaining to modernisation & infrastructure development increased to Rs 1.62 lakh crore; 57% rise since 2019-20
* Capital Budget of BRO enhanced by 43% to Rs 5,000 crore; At Rs 23,264 crore, allocation to DRDO increased by 9%
* iDEX gets Rs 116 crore, an enhancement of 93% over 2022-23, to further foster innovation

Capital Expenditure

In the Union Budget 2023-24, the Capital Investment Outlay has been increased steeply for the third year in a row by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore, which would be 3.3 per cent of GDP. This will be almost three times the outlay in 2019-20.

Accordingly, the Capital Allocations pertaining to modernisation and infrastructure development of the Defence Services has been increased to Rs 1,62,600 crore representing a rise of Rs 10,230 crore (6.7%) over FY 2022-23. Also, the increase in the Capital Budget since 2019-20 has been Rs 59,200 crore (57%). This increase is a reflection of the Government’s commitment towards sustainable augmentation in the area of modernisation & infrastructure development of the Defence Services.

Border Infrastructure

MoD is committed towards infrastructure strengthening in the Border Areas, particularly the Northern Borders. Accordingly, the Capital Budget of Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has been increased by 43% to Rs 5,000 crore in FY 2023-24 as against Rs 3,500 crore in FY 2022-23. Also, the allocation under this segment has doubled in two years since FY 2021-22. This will boost the Border infrastructure thereby creating strategically important assets like Sela Tunnel, Nechipu Tunnel & Sela-Chhabrela Tunnel and will also enhance border connectivity.

Research & Development

Recognising the crucial role of Research, Innovation and Technological development towards capacity building of the Armed Forces as well as fueling India’s Mission of Aatmanirbharta

Towards strengthening Research and Development in Defence, the allocation to DRDO has been enhanced by 9%, with a total allocation of Rs 23,264 crore in BE 2023-24.

Innovation

To further foster innovation, encourage technology development and strengthen the Defence Industrial ecosystem in the country, iDEX and DTIS have been allocated Rs 116 crore and Rs 45 crore respectively representing an enhancement of 93% for iDEX and 95% for DTIS over 2022-23. This will fulfill the Ministry of Defence’s vision to leverage ideas from bright young minds across the country.

The Union Budget 2023-24 has announced a National Data Governance Policy to unleash innovation and research by start-ups and academia. This will enable access to anonymized data which will further boost the Defence Start-ups and iDEX scheme.

MSMEs

The Union Budget 2023-24 has also announced that the revamped Credit Guarantee scheme for MSMEs which will take effect from 1st April 2023 through infusion of Rs. 9,000 Crore in the corpus. This will enable additional collateral-free guaranteed credit of Rs 2 lakh crore. Further, the cost of the credit has also been reduced by about 1 per cent. This scheme will give a further fillip the MSMEs associated with the Defence Sector.

Pensions & Welfare

The Defence Pension Budget registers a notable jump of 15.5 % in FY 2023-24. In absolute terms, this amount is Rs 1,38, 205 Crore in BE 2023-24 against Rs 1,19,696 crore in BE 2022-23. Further, RE 2022-23 allocations at Rs 1,53,415 crore records a significant jump of 28%, amounting to Rs 33, 718 crores. This includes an amount of Rs 28,138 Crore to meet the requirement on account of revision of Armed Forces Pensioners/ Family Pensioners under One Rank One Pension (OROP).

Towards the Government’s commitment in transforming Healthcare outreach to our veterans, Defence Budget 2023-24 registers a notable increase of 52% in the allotment for Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) with BE allocation of Rs. 5431.56 Crore in FY 2023-24 against Rs. 3582.51 Crore in FY 2022-23. This enhancement will ensure ‘Cashless Health Services’ and improved ‘Service Delivery’ to our veterans and their dependents across India.

Welfare of Agniveers

The Union Budget 2023-24 has provided Exempt-Exempt-Exempt (EEE) status to the Agniveer Fund.  

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Enhancing human resources has taken many new forms. All human sensors are being exploited to their maximum capabilities and then solutions are being found to augment them with technology.

Next-Generation Nonsurgical Neurotechnology Programme

The US Pentagon is trying build tech that would give soldiers the ability to control deadly military drones with their minds. Working with drones and swarms of drones, operating at the speed of thought rather than through mechanical devices – those types of things are what these devices are really for,’ according to DARPA.

The Next-Generation Nonsurgical Neurotechnology (N3) programme aims to develop high-performance, bi-directional brain-machine interfaces for able-bodied service members. Such interfaces would be enabling technology for diverse national security applications such as control of unmanned aerial vehicles and active cyber defense systems or teaming with computer systems to successfully multitask during complex military missions.

Whereas the most effective, state-of-the-art neural interfaces require surgery to implant electrodes into the brain, N3 technology would not require surgery and would be man-portable, thus making the technology accessible to a far wider population of potential users. Noninvasive neurotechnologies such as the electro-encephalogram and transcranial direct current stimulation already exist, but do not offer the precision, signal resolution, and portability required for advanced applications by people working in real-world settings.

To enable future non-invasive brain-machine interfaces, N3 researchers are working to develop solutions that address challenges such as the physics of scattering and weakening of signals as they pass through skin, skull, and brain tissue, as well as designing algorithms for decoding and encoding neural signals that are represented by other modalities such as light, acoustic, or electro-magnetic energy.

Integrated Visual Augmentation System

No other piece of equipment has had this kind of impact since the introduction of night vision. The US military is developing augmented reality night vision goggles.

A Microsoft-designed prototype goggle – the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), that offers the capabilities they need to regain and maintain overmatch in multi-domain operations on battlefields that are increasingly urban, congested, dark and unpredictable – has been tested in November 2019.

The IVAS prototype, based on Microsoft’s heads up display, was designed using Microsoft’s HoloLens 2. That first STP was geared toward proving concept and utility.

The final product will include a variety of features: a color see-through digital display that makes it possible for the user to access information without taking his eye off the battlefield; thermal and low-light sensors that make it possible to see in the dark, literally; rapid target acquisition and aided target identification; augmented reality and artificial intelligence, to name just a few. IVAS is billed as a fight-rehearse-train system, meaning its function on the battlefield is priority, but its augmented reality capabilities, like real-time mapping, will make it useful for training and rehearsing operations anywhere at any time.

Xstat – Rapid Hemostasis System

The Rapid Hemostasis System or Xstat is a revolutionary technique to stop excessive blood loss due to injuries on the battlefield. Generally, a simple tourniquet is used in these circumstances, which are successful most of the times. But a US based medical firm has come up with an efficient way to stop blood loss completely.

The technique includes an injector syringe and tablets lookalike sponges that inflate when comes in contact with the wound. These sponges are actively covered by hemostatic (blood stopping) agent. Evidently, the wound can be completely filled with inflated sponges in less than fifteen seconds, allowing hemostasis to kick in and completely stopping the blood loss.

Electronic Drug Prescriptions

What if instead of pills or injections doctors could prescribe electronics? DARPA’s Electrical Prescriptions (ElectRx) program is a blanket program for a diverse range of research being conducted in using electrical stimulation of the peripheral nerves to treat conditions such as chronic pain, inflammation, and PTSD. The idea itself isn’t entirely new – pacemakers have been around for a while and neurostimulators are already providing treatment for neurological conditions like Parkinson’s. Another team is examining the potential of nerve stimulation to treat PTSD. The researchers believe that nerve stimulation could be used to regulate neurochemical responses and reduce fear and anxiety in PTSD patients.

Augmented Reality

Contact Lenses

DARPA is reportedly interested in a smart contact lens that could give soldiers superpowers by augmenting troops’ visual capabilities in the field, meaning the gadget could represent the augmented contact lens that DARPA has spent a decade searching for.

Placing that information on a screen that’s always in front of you – like a contact lens directly in front of your eyeball – means that you don’t have to stop what you’re doing to look something up. And the minute you’ve got what you need, that information disappears.

Instant Language Translation

Imagine a handheld device that can translate any language in real time, like having a translator at your disposal at all times. DARPA’s Broad Operational Language Translation (BOLT) program is aiming to do just that. The technology can be deployed on an Android device. An English-speaker can say a phrase and the device can repeat it back in another language, and vice versa. The system currently only works with Iraqi Arabic, but DARPA says it can easily be expanded to others in the future.

Next-Level Prosthetics

DARPA invested a $7 million in the DEKA Arm, created by Segway inventor Dean Kamen, also known as the Luke Arm (after Luke Skywalker) the prosthetic is dexterous enough to handle objects as delicate as a grape. Amputees will finally get prosthetics that are as advanced as the ones we see in science fiction. DARPA’s Revolutionizing Prosthetics program has been working on the problem since 2006 and has announced some promising developments over the years.

Meanwhile, researchers at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Lab have developed a bionic hand can actually provide its wearer with a sense of touch via electrodes that connect to the patient’s sensory and motor cortexes. The neural connection also allows patients to control the arm using only their thoughts. The ultimate goal is to someday provide injured soldiers with prostheses advanced enough to allow them to return to the battlefield, if desired.

Other Projects

Artificial Muscles. Made from plastic Future Army robots will be the strongest in the world, if visionary researchers have their way. Robots could be armed with artificial muscles made from plastic. Army and academic researchers collaborated to study how plastic fibers respond when they are twisted and coiled into a spring. Different stimuli causes the spring to contract and expand, mimicking natural muscles. Artificial muscles could potentially augment robot performance, allowing our future mechanical partners to buff up, and pump.

Monitoring Soldier Health. With biorecogni-tion receptors Army and academic researchers are looking at how to monitor Soldier health and performance in real-time, by developing unique receptors. Future bioreceptors will be small, simple to produce, inexpensive, and robust to environmental stresses.

Human Interest Detector. US Army researchers have developed a human interest detector that can determine where people are looking and decode their brain activity. By monitoring brainwaves, researchers track neural responses and assess what captures a Soldier’s attention among a myriad of stimuli in threat environments.

Soldier-robot Teams. Army researchers have been developing new algorithms and capabilities that are unseen in industry – enabling autonomous agents such as robots to operate in these unknown environments such as future battlefields.

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There’s a lot of discussions today about what will robots do? What can they do on the battlefield? What can they not do? How many people does it take to operate? The idea for the robots is to have them operate several kilometres in front of a vehicle or infantry formation to detect and engage the enemy force before human personnel are engaged. The idea is that if a robot engages first, the risk is reduced and soldiers and manned vehicles have more time to figure out a plan of action when then advancing into contact with the enemy.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), more commonly called drones have become a separate class of drones because of the variety of essential tasks that they now perform. Thousands are now in service worldwide and growing. Drones are now being developed to operate autonomously and with manned teaming.

Artificial intelligence is being incorporated with robots. They are saving money and lives. Advanced robotics on the front lines are a powerful deterrent. Here is a selection of some developments which will make a difference.

Robotic Combat Vehicle

The US Army’s Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) programme aims to deliver robotic vehicles in three different weight categories; light, which is around five to seven tonnes, medium at around ten tonnes, and heavy which will be up to 20 tonnes. Throughout all the variants the Army wants the vehicles to be payload-agnostic, giving them the capability to carry a range of different mission packages depending on the environment they face.

The first lot of platforms will be used to inform and develop how to conduct operations with the assistance of robots at a company level and then transfer the lessons learned into concepts to employ at a brigade size.

Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots

Advanced bipedal robots that can recognize people, enter buildings, avoid obstacles and pick up objects in their “hands” are being developed. They also have voice recognition systems that can take verbal commands. The military envisions using these robots to enter buildings in danger zones or to bring emergency medical supplies across battle zones to help wounded soldiers. For peace time, they will include robots that can serve drinks and snacks at public receptions, trade shows, parties, etc. Some will even be able to carry on limited conversations.

Robots that Mimic Human Movement

This robot, surprisingly agile and eerily anthropomorphic, is able to simulate the stress that soldiers put on their protective clothing, helping biohazard and other battle-wear makers refine their designs. They can walk, crawl and do calisthenics while wearing test suits and being exposed to chemical warfare agents in secure lab settings. The latest version of the robot can even climb stairs, a huge engineering advance, considering the complexity and weight distribution required for that act.

Live-Fire Trainers

In the near future, soldiers will receive their live-fire training and marksman training with the aid of special, robotically controlled Segway personal transport devices.

Specially armored Segways are called “smart targets.” They can move in a lifelike manner with unpredictable turns, stops and sprints, as would a real live target. Lifelike hardened plastic dummies on the Segways can be made up to look like enemies in uniform, terrorists or assassins. Such smart targets resemble live-fire combat much more than the old wooden pop-up targets that have been used for a century. Robotic live-fire training is sure to become routine in a few years.

Robot Mules

Agile “pack mule” robots will one day be commonplace on military missions in the field. The robot will carry gear, such as heavy backpacks that can slow down ground forces. The four-legged “mule” easily negotiates rocks and divots in the road and field. It is intended to follow a military unit of soldiers autonomously, catching up with the unit on field forays with supplies, including food and ammunition. Refinements have made the robot surprisingly quiet, an important characteristic on a secret mission. Future versions of the pack mule will be able to interpret verbal and visual commands.

MK2 Robotic Arm

The best that robotic arms have to offer, the MK2 offers top of the line dexterity. This arm could have a great impact in unmanned vehicles that can defuse bombs. The robotic arm features a modular construction and unparalleled freedom and dexterity and it can hold upwards of 25 kg.

The BigDog

Soldiers now have to carry a great deal of equipment with them. This puts immense strain on their bodies and can slow them down considerably. So the need for a machine to carry all that equipment is understandable. But some terrain can be difficult to navigate by machines, wheels ca get stuck or not be able to climb stairs, so the best solution is to create a robot that can walk on legs. The ideal solution is to look at nature for inspiration, and a four-legged robot offered the best stability without having the need for complex motors and equipment. BigDog can carry up to 20 pounds of equipment. Although for now it has to be controlled by a remote, in the future it will be completely autonomous. The power behind the BigDog is a one-cylinder gasoline engine connected to a computer, a fiber-optic laser gyroscope and even an IMU (inertial measurement unit) for keeping the robot standing on difficult terrains and inclined to up to 45 degrees.

The Throwbot XT

The Throwbot XT is versatile, stealthy and easy to deploy tactical robot which can efficiently be used during various search and rescue missions. These compact little bots can transmit audio and video signals from normally inaccessible areas, making detection of illegal and explosive materials more easier. It is lightweight (weighing only 540g) and have a maximum range of 36 meters. The robot is also equipped with an inbuilt infrared mechanism that activates whenever there is a low supply of light so that it can also operate in complete darkness.

Flybot

With the look and size of a lightning bug, this tiny robotic fly will be sent on reconnaissance missions in areas too dangerous for soldiers, including places contaminated by chemical or biological weapons. It weighs less than a pin and can be remotely controlled in flight. The Flybot engineers say it could also be used to find hidden chemical bombs. Later incarnations of the Flybot may also be able to rely on tiny solar power cells for propulsion.

Dragonfly Surveillance Robot

This little guy can fly off and give information about what to expect ahead, so that soldiers don’t run blind into buildings. Imagine a swarm of these bugs flying around and giving information. They are hardly noticeable by anyone, due to their small size. Applications of this technology could help search for survivors in accidents and in collapsed buildings.

Meshworm

One of the tiniest robots in development – about the size of a fingertip – the Meshworm moves and acts like a small earthworm. It propels itself inch by inch, using artificial muscles that mimic the way an earthworm moves, by stretching one part of itself forward, then pulling the rest of its body along behind it. The Meshworm can move silently into the tiniest places to report back data, such as temperatures inside a confined space. It can also record audio and maybe even video in future versions. Made entirely of synthetic fibrous material, it is nearly indestructible.

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